Introduction to Pittsburgh: Education & Careers

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was founded in 1758. As the site of the nation's largest inland port, it became a central hub of commerce and industry during the heyday of heavy manufacturing and steel production. With the general collapse of these industries in the U.S., Pittsburgh had to find something new.

Over the last forty years, the city and surrounding Allegheny County has bounced back, attracting technology companies, students, communications firms, and much more. Today it is once again a thriving area, with a seven county population of 2.3 million residents.

The City of Pittsburgh is located at the intersection of three rivers; the Allegheny, the Ohio, and the Monongahela. It has thirty river-crossing bridges, and glancing down the Allegheny River gives one a beautiful view of many of the unique bridges (Allegheny County is said to have some 2,000 bridges in all). The well-designed PNC Park hosts the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the beloved Steelers play at Heinz Field.

The 18,500-seat Consol Energy Center and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center host many exciting conventions, concerts and other gatherings each year. Located in downtown Pittsburgh, the DLCC is the first “green” convention center in the world, and the only meeting venue to be awarded the Gold LEED® Certification by the US Green Building Council.

In 2009, The estimated population of the city in 2009 was 311,647; among those 25 and older, 31% had at least a Bachelor's degree. The same study ranked Pittsburgh 15th of the 69 places in terms of number of residents 25 years or older who have completed a high school degree, with a figure of 84.7%

Careers in Pittsburgh

A quick glance around downtown buildings reveals Pittsburgh's strengths: education; technology and industry research and development; health care and insurance; and financial institutions. Pittsburgh offers a good mix of large companies, medium- and small-sized companies, non-profits, and government agencies.

Mike Hall, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at CMU, explains that popular majors in the area seem to be specific to the institutions themselves: By the sheer numbers, students come to CMU for engineering and computer science as well as our natural science programs. At the same time, students go to Pitt for the pre-professional programs, because they are great programs. You will also have a mix of liberal arts, of course, at institutions such as Duquesne and Point Park.